Restored – 1981 Maico 490 Mega 2

Ending soon on the new auction site is a restored example of what Motocross Action Magazine called (in a period review) “the greatest bike ever made.” It’s met reserve, so it’s going to find a new owner – will it be you?

The Mega 2 is still an absolute legend – Maico sold more of this exact model than Honda sold across their entire MX lineup in 1981. Jody Weisel, one of the nation’s best test riders, once said that the 1981 Maico 490 Mega 2 had the best handling and best powerband in this history of motocross. And that’s coming from someone who’s pretty much ridden everything out there. If you have a few minutes, I highly recommend reading one of my favorite of Weisel’s articles for Motocross Action Magazine, “The Worst Bikes I Ever Raced” But more about this bike: the 490 put out an absurd 53 horsepower, which was controlled by a wet multi-disc cluth and was transmitte dthrough a five-speed gearbox. This whole incredible package weighed just 244 pounds. We can’t stress enough how good this bike is. If you want to hear more gushing praise for it, read a piece on off-road.com simply entitled, “How Good Was the Maico 490?”

The last restored example I featured sold for $9,210. This one (VIN: 3512770) met reserve at about half of that. This was restored by Phoenix Precision Restoration and it looks to be stock except for a Maico Only Racing expansion pipe. There’s also a couple of small cosmetic flaws, but nothing major.

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